Breathless
by jareaujareau
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is the voice of a little boy to make you realize you deserve better. (Now Multi-Chapter)
1. Chapter 1

He had her pressed up against the wall, his large hands around her throat. Her eyes were nearly popping out of her head, and Ian's were full of fire and rage. She kept trying to push him off of her, but he was much too strong and his anger made him even more focused on keeping her where she was and under his control. "Don't you ever cross me like that again!" He yelled at her, the back of his right hand colliding with her cheek. She could feel the sting from where his ring had dug into her skin, but she couldn't show any pain, any weakness. Not with Ian.

Their eyes met, and brown collided with blue as Ian let his hands fall from her throat. He didn't let her move however, keeping her backed up against the wall. "Ian, I'm sorry." She mumbled, mainly saying it just so their fight could end and she could go to sleep. "I won't do it again."

"You're damn right you won't!" Ian backed up, but she stayed where she was, not wanting to make any sudden movements. Ian had been drinking, which was partly why he had reacted so badly when she told Declan that he could stay up for a few more minutes. He got angry about her telling Declan he was allowed to do something when he had told him otherwise. It was rare that he got angry about small stuff like that, but when he was drinking it was hard to tell what he'd be mad about.

The fight had started in the upstairs hallway. Ian had started yelling before he shoved her, and she fell, hitting her face on the hand-rail of the staircase. Somehow they had ended up in the bedroom, most likely because she begged for him to not let Declan see them fighting or see him hurt her. That was over an hour ago, and they had been fighting since then. But luckily Ian looked like he was done, as he turned around and left the room. Emily stood in the corner for a little over a minute before quickly rushing into the bathroom and closing the door. She looked in the mirror for a few seconds before started to clean up, avoiding having to look at herself as much as possible.

She jumped slightly when she heard two soft knocks on the door, followed by a quiet voice. "Lauren?"

Emily made sure her tears were wiped away, and there was no more blood on her face before opening the door. "What are you doing up, sweetheart? You should be in bed." She told him as she pulled him into her arms and picked him up. She knew that he had been watching through the crack in his door, waiting for Ian to walk by so that he could run in Ian's bedroom and check on Lauren. He had done that a few times recently when her and Ian had gotten into arguments, and luckily Ian hadn't caught him yet.

"Daddy hurt you..." The four year old whispered as he reached his tiny hand up and ran his fingers along her lip. From the glance in the mirror, she knew that it was busted from hitting the table. She flinched at Declan's touch, and she sighed slightly as she took his hand and softly kissed it.

Emily shook her head as she carried him through the bedroom and down the hallway to his room. "Daddy didn't hurt me, honey. I tripped and hit my lip on the railing on the stairs." That wasn't a complete lie, and it was much better than letting Declan know that his father hit her on a constant basis. That was much more than the four year old needed to take on at the current moment.

She laid the little boy in his bed before leaning down and kissing his head. "I wanna sleep with you." He whined, trying hard to fight sleep and stay awake. Emily just shook her head as she sat on the edge of his bed and ran her hand through his hair.

"Not tonight, sweetheart." She told him, knowing that it was very rare that Declan was able to sleep in her and Ian's bed. She could only think of one time that Declan slept with them, and it was when the little boy was sick. "But I'll sit here with you until you fall asleep."

Content with that answer, Declan snuggled up with his blanket, holding Emily's hand as he closed his eyes and the big blue orbs that Emily had been looking at disappeared. The boy looked just like Ian, and it killed her sometimes. It killed her to think that he could possibly turn out to be the same exact person that Ian was. And because that was the man she was in love with, that hurt her even more.

Declan held Emily's hand as he fell asleep, and once she was sure that he was asleep for good and wouldn't wake up at the sudden movement, she gently removed her hand from his. She stood up and watched him sleep for a few moments before going out into the hallway and gently shutting the door behind her. As she was walking to the bedroom, she heard the door to Ian's study open, and she held her breath as she quickly entered the bedroom. She stripped down to her bra and underwear as quick as she could before climbing into bed and pretending to be asleep.

When Ian walked in, he either believed she was asleep or didn't care because he walked right past her and into the bathroom. Emily let out a sigh of relief as she saw the light turn on and heard the shower. She placed her hand on her stomach, rubbing in circles softly. "We'll be okay, I promise." She whispered before wrapping her arm around her pillow and slowly closing her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was shining in through the window, and Emily groaned as she rolled over onto her side. Ian was sleeping like a rock next to her, and she knew that considering the amount of alcohol he drank the night before, he would be out for a few more hours. As she thought about Ian, she felt herself start to get sick to her stomach, and she practically jumped out of bed. She ran into the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time for the contents of her stomach to began to spill out into the bowl.

Emily started to wipe her mouth off with the side of her arm, but it was no use as she felt her stomach begin to turn once more. Her earlier assumption proved to be false as Ian found his way into the bathroom, kneeling down and pulling Emily's hair back. He took her necklace and moved it so that it was hanging down her back and out of the way. His free hand rubbed her back as she started to gag, a sign that there was absolutely nothing left in her stomach.

As Emily leaned back into him, Ian pressed a kiss against the side of her sweaty forehead. "You okay, love?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her and held her against him. He wasn't always loving toward her, but when he was, Emily could tell that he was truly in love with her. Or Lauren, at least. She could tell that there wasn't anything that that man wouldn't do for her. And knowing that she was deceiving him made her feel even worse. She had feelings for him too, despite her attempts not to, but those feelings wouldn't matter when she reported back to Interpol and Ian was arrested.

Just thinking about what her future actions would do to Ian made her stomach begin to twist again, and she was thankful that there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up.

"I'm okay. I guess my stomach didn't agree with something I ate last night." She lied, and Ian nodded as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He didn't say anything as she attempted to stand up, despite the dizziness. "I'm going to take a shower." Emily told him as she started the water. She hoped that he would get up and go back into the bedroom. She didn't think that she could possibly be showing yet, but she avoided letting Ian see her without a shirt just in case. She knew that she would have to tell him she was pregnant eventually, but she needed to talk to Clyde first.

Ian got up off the floor and planted a soft kiss on Emily's cheek. "Okay, love. I'll go find something light for you to eat for breakfast." He rubbed her shoulder for a few seconds before going back into their bedroom and closing the door behind him. Emily let out a sigh of relief as she leaned against the cold tile wall and closed her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had let herself get into this situation. She couldn't believe that she had let herself fall in love with Ian Doyle, much less let herself get pregnant with his child.

Emily looked in the mirror as she undressed, turning to the side as she pulled her shirt over her head. She could've sworn that she already had a tiny little bump, but she knew that it wouldn't really be noticeable unless you were looking for it. As she stepped into the shower she made a promise to herself that she would find a way to talk to Clyde today, to tell him about her current predicament and find out what the best course of action would be.

As she sat down on the floor of the shower, she pulled her knees up to her chest and thought. She ran through all possible scenarios in her head. She could not call Clyde and tell Ian about the baby and then come out with her true identity. Regardless, she knew Ian would be angry, but it was possible that his anger would die down and he would consider not harming her or the baby. She could also tell Ian about the baby, but not about her true identity. That was probably a better option, but she would be continuing to live a lie, not only with Ian Doyle, but with her child as well.

She could tell Clyde and he could send someone out to get her immediately. Ian wouldn't know about the baby, but he would know that she had betrayed him. This could also possibly blow the whole operation. They might not have enough on Ian to arrest him, and he could come after Emily. That was probably the worst idea out of all of the ones in her head.

It was possible that Clyde would leave her there. That he would continue to have her get more dirt on Ian. With this option, she would have to tell Ian that she was pregnant, and then Ian would continue to get more attached to her and to the baby. It was also likely that she would become more attached to Ian. And then it would all eventually blow up in her face. Ian would eventually be arrested and she would not only have taken away Declan, but his other child as well. And although her intention from the beginning was to bring him down, her intentions had changed and she couldn't do that to him.

By the time she was stepping out of the shower and grabbing her towel, she had come to the conclusion that it wouldn't be too bad to end all contact with her team at Interpol and have a family with Ian and Declan and the baby, as Lauren. While she did realize that that probably wasn't a valid option, it wasn't the worst that could happen. The rest of her options seemed to sound significantly worse than that one.

She walked out of the bathroom, her towel wrapped around her. As she looked through the dresser for something comfortable to wear, she noticed the glasses of orange juice and water, as well as the tray of food that was set on the nightstand. Emily couldn't help but smile as she realized that Ian had brought her breakfast in bed. As she got dressed, she thought about her options and realized that absolutely one thing was for sure: she was screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

Emily sat down on the bed after finding a pair of spandex shorts and a black tank top. Normally she would dress up more, but with her not feeling well, she knew that Ian would probably make her stay in bed for the rest of the day.

She knew her injuries from last night looked even worse than they had a few hours ago, and she didn't want to have to show her face around anyone anyway, so she was thankful for Ian's slight protectiveness over her. Emily brushed her hair back before getting comfortable on her side of the bed and slowly starting to eat some of the breakfast that Ian had left for her. She knew that her stomach probably wouldn't agree with the food that she was eating, but she was starving and knew that she needed to eat.

As she was taking a bite of her eggs, Ian walked into the bedroom. "Is that okay? Is there anything else I can get you?" He questioned as he walked over to her side of the bed. The Irish man reached over and gently rubbed her back as the brunette nodded her head.

"Yes, honey. This is perfect." She looked over and gave him a small smile. "No, I don't need anything else."

Ian continued to rub her back as she ate. Luckily, her stomach didn't seem to be rejecting the food she was eating, so she continued to eat until the food on her plate was gone. She set the plate on the nightstand and took a sip of her orange juice before looking up at Ian. "Can I talk to you?"

Ian looked down at her and ran his hand through her wet hair. "Of course, love." He sat on the edge of the bed, next to her feet. "What's going on?"

His accent was thick, and his piercing blue eyes were looking into hers. She was about to break this man's heart and she was about to make him angrier than she had probably ever seen him. Emily took a deep breath as she sat up slightly and looked down at him. "You have to promise me that you will let me finish talking before you respond."

Ian was confused, but he nodded. "Okay..." He agreed, curious about what she was about to say to him. But he could never have prepared for the conversation that they were about to have.

It took a few seconds for Emily to start speaking, and she knew that she couldn't go back after she spoke those first few words. But she knew that if they had any chance, she had to be honest with him. And she had to be honest with him now, before something bad happened. She looked down at her stomach, unable to make eye contact with him anymore. "I'm pregnant." She mumbled, speaking so quietly that Ian almost couldn't hear her.

Ian opened his mouth to speak, but Emily stopped him. "You can't respond yet, I'm not done." The brunette told him as she took another deep breath. She was trying so hard not to have a panic attack. There was no turning back. "I'm not a weapons dealer...I'm an agent at Interpol. My name is Emily Prentiss. I was sent undercover to profile you and to bring you down..." She could see the anger start to build up, and she knew that she had to get to the point before he absolutely lost it and didn't let her finish explaining. "I'm telling you now because I love you. I truly fell in love with you. I honestly and truly love you. And I don't want to bring you down. I don't want to hurt you. I want to be with you, I want us to be a family."

Ian clenched his fists, and Emily knew that he was trying so hard not to absolutely flip out on her. She kept talking, knowing that it couldn't do more bad than good. "I will stop all contact with my team. I won't speak to any of them ever again. And I know you're angry, you have every right to be angry..."

He broke his promise at this point and chose this moment to interrupt her. "Why did you choose to tell me now?" Ian questioned. Emily was truly surprised at how calm he was. She had prepared herself for screaming, for him to be violent. Calm was not something that she had prepared herself for.

She was so stunned, it took her a few moments to respond. "I chose to tell you now because I didn't want to hurt you any more than I already had. I realized at this point that I had fallen in love with you and that we were having a child, and that there was no going back from here." She wasn't quite sure if that made any sense. There were so many thoughts scrambling through her head, it was impossible for her to try and explain them all. She couldn't believe that she had fallen in love with him, a terrorist and a murderer, but she had. She couldn't believe that she was saying these things right now either, but she was.

"I realized at this point that my feelings for you were real. Every time I tell you I love you or tell you to be careful before you leave...those things come from my heart. I realized that this isn't just my job anymore. I love you and I love Declan so much and I can't imagine hurting either one of you. So I'm telling you because you need to know the truth...and if you want to throw me out on my ass, I completely understand. But I'm telling you now because I believe that if we can get past this, we can continue our relationship with no secrets."

Ian stared at her for a few moments, and Emily was extremely nervous about what he was going to say to her.

"How do I know that you're not trying to trick me right now? How do I know that you're not lying and that you're just trying to expedite your profile and get me arrested quicker?" His question broke Emily's heart, but she understood exactly where he was coming from.

Emily bit her lip, thinking for a few seconds. "I'm not, Ian. I will do anything to prove that to you. I'm not doing that. I'm telling you the truth right now. I've come clean to you about everything. I'm telling you the truth."

Ian needed time to process all of this. He couldn't believe that he had let her trick him. He couldn't believe that he had let himself fall in love with this woman. He couldn't believe that he hadn't beaten the absolute shit out of her as soon as she told him she was an agent. But she was carrying his child, and surprisingly, his feelings for her were still there. There was something about her honesty and her attempt to try and right her wrongs with him that kept him from laying hands on her right now. He clenched his fists once more as he stood up and inhaled deeply. "I need a minute." He admitted as he stormed out the door, slamming it as he exited the room.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been days since she had told Ian about her true identity, and he had barely spoken to her since. He had gone on about his days normally, with the exception of not speaking to Emily. During this time, Emily didn't contact her team. She wanted to give Ian the time that he needed to make a decision on what he wanted to do, and she didn't want to contact her team and have that affect the choice that he made. She meant every word that she had said to him that morning, and every second that went on where she didn't quite know what Ian was thinking made her even more anxious.

His lack of anger was what worried her. It wouldn't have bothered her if he had yelled at her, scolded her, smacked her around a few times. What bothered her was how calm he was. What bothered her was that he got up and left with barely a word. That made her nervous. She walked around the villa as if she were walking on eggshells, anticipating what Ian's final decision would be. She wouldn't be surprised if he had been coming up with a plot to kill her. Then again she wouldn't be surprised if he was just trying to calm down before attempting to come up with a plan of how they would live their life together. That was something that would need a lot of discussion. It wasn't like she could just turn off her cell phone and that would be that. There was a lot more that they would have to do in order to make sure that they could live their lives together and that Interpol wouldn't be able to find them.

Over the few days since she had told Ian, she went through many emotions. She regretted telling Ian, but then again she was glad that she did. She was glad that she didn't have to have that huge weight on her shoulders anymore. But on the other hand, she realized that she was currently living her life in anticipation of what Ian would do. She was never truly afraid of him before. She knew that even in the moments where he would get angry and lay hands on her, he would never beat her to the point that she feared for her life. But at this point, she was afraid. She had betrayed him, she had fooled him. Hell, in Ian's mind, she could still be fooling him. He had absolutely no reason to believe that she was being completely truthful with him. At this point, she destroyed all of the trust that he had for her. After what she had told him, Ian had no reason to trust her or believe what she had said. And that was truly one of the most conflicting parts of the whole situation.

Ian's mind was racing as well. Normally he would turn to hard liquor to try and numb the feelings that he had, the pain that Lauren had caused him. But this time, not even liquor could numb the pain or make the feelings go away. He loved this woman. He loved Lauren, or Emily, or whatever the hell her name was. Emily...that was almost as pretty as Lauren. He had spent the last few days going through every emotion possible. Anger, sadness, regret, disappointment. He couldn't believe that he had let this woman fool him so badly. He couldn't believe that he had let himself fall in love with her. He wanted to marry her, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he wanted her to be Declan's mother. It was so hard to resist the temptation of alcohol at this point, but he needed to be sober in order to process this entire situation. He needed to be sober in order to decide what he should do.

He contemplated murdering her. Killing her in cold blood. He would make her feel the way that he was feeling at the current moment. But if he did that, he'd have to kill himself. He couldn't imagine living with the thought that he had killed her. He couldn't imagine living without her. And that made him absolutely disgusted. He had been with a good number of women throughout his life and one had never made him feel this way. He had never allowed a woman to have this kind of control over him. But he wanted her in his life. He needed her in his life.

The realization that he couldn't live without her left Ian with basically one solution. He would have to forgive her. After what she had done to him, after how she had deceived him, that would prove to be fairly difficult. But that was the choice that he had to make. He couldn't throw her out like she had suggested. As much as he wanted to do that, he couldn't. Not only was she pregnant with his child, but he realized that he couldn't do that to her. As much as he wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and strangle her at this current moment, he realized that he loved her too much to hurt her the way that she had hurt him. And while that wasn't the typical thinking that Ian Doyle was used to, his typical thinking tended to be distorted when it came to her.

He took a deep breath and raised his head out of the comfort of his hands as he realized just what he had to do. As he stood up and walked out of his study, making his way down to the bedroom, he tried to plan what he needed to say. But as he entered and saw the brunette lying on the bed, watching tv with Declan, all of the words that he had planned to say disappeared. He couldn't seem to find them. He watched Emily jump slightly as she noticed his presence, and he could tell that she feared him. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe it was a terrible thing, but at this moment in time, it bothered him.

"Emily." He spoke her real name for the first time, and watched as Declan looked up in confusion. How were they going to explain this to Declan? He brushed that thought out of his head as he watched the mother of his child mute the television and give him her full attention. "I want you to cut off all contact with your team. With Interpol, with anyone you may have been working with in the past." He watched as she nodded her head, paying complete attention to what he was saying to her. He watched as she let out a breath of relief.

"We'll have to decide exactly what we need to do, as we can't stay here, but that can be a discussion for later." Ian took a breath as he walked closer to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. "I'm still pissed. At this moment I am still so angry I can't even explain it. This is going to take time. But I love you and I can't lose you...And if you will really leave your old life behind to have a new one with me and with our children, then that's what I want. And we can discuss the details later, but I had to tell you the conclusion that I had come to." He reached up toward her and took her hand, rubbing his thumb over the top of it for a few seconds.

"You're the only woman that I've ever felt this way about before. You're the only woman that I've ever pictured myself spending all of my life with...any other woman I would have probably reacted a hell of a lot differently with. But it's different with you." Ian let her hand go and stood up as he made his way to the door. "I told you before that I didn't know what kind of life we were going to have, I just knew that I wanted you in mine...well I still feel that way. If this situation didn't take away that feeling, I don't think anything will."


	5. Chapter 5

"Pregnant, eh?" Ian asked, an attempt to spark up a conversation about the child Emily was carrying. Considering the fact that she had told him she was pregnant right before she told him all about her being undercover, they hadn't had much of a chance to talk about it. It had been a week since he had told her that he wanted her to cut off all contact with her team, and in those seven days, he had had some more time to think and calm down.

Declan was lying next to Emily, his arm wrapped around her and his head buried in her side. Emily's arm was around the little boy, and she was still rubbing his back, even though he had fallen asleep over ten minutes ago. She looked over at Ian, who was sitting on his side of the bed. "Yeah. I don't know how far along or anything, but I know for sure that we're going to be having a child within the next few months."

"Are you okay with that? Having my baby?" His mind immediately went back to Chloe, Declan's mother. When she was pregnant with Declan, she had tried to kill herself. Ian had caught her in the bathroom after she had swallowed a bottle of pills. He shoved his fingers down her throat and forced her to throw them up. She would have rather died than have Ian's baby. He hoped that Emily's mindframe was not the same. He didn't want to have to keep her prisoner for the duration of her pregnancy, like he had done with Chloe. He was sure that Emily wouldn't be like that, especially considering that she had told him that she wanted to have a family with him, but he had to be sure. He didn't want to have any more surprises.

Emily stopped rubbing Declan's back and looked at him. "Ian..." She let out a small sigh. "Of course I'm okay with that." She wasn't sure who Declan's mother was, or what the situation with her had been, but she was sure that it wasn't anything good. And considering the fact that Ian asked her if she was okay with having his baby, she assumed that the question had something to do with Declan's mother's actions in the past. "I told you that I wanted to have a family with you. I meant that."

"We'll have to get you to a doctor soon...make sure that you get the right care and we can find out when to expect the little one."

He started to reach for her belly, but pulled his hand back. Emily noticed and she looked at him, reaching for his hand. Being mindful of the small child between them, Emily took his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Obviously you can't feel anything yet...Neither of us will be able to feel anything for a while. But I'm kind of starting to show." She pulled her shirt up slightly. "Either that or I gained ten pounds from that amazing stew you made last night." Emily laughed.

Glancing at the small body in between them, Ian couldn't help but smile. "He's going to be so excited to be an older brother. He loves you so much, he'll be so happy when he can have someone else to play with."

"He called me mommy yesterday..." Emily admitted, changing the subject as she thought about when they were playing in the yard the day before.

 _Declan was running through the grass with bare feet, feeling as if he was running faster than Superman. Emily was chasing after him, just as they had many times before. "You can't get me, mommy!" Declan yelled, giggling as he started to run faster. Shocked, Emily nearly stopped running, but she didn't want to worry or confuse the young boy. She just continued to chase after him, reminding herself that she would talk to Ian about it when she had a chance._

"He called you mommy?" Ian asked, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't help but smile when he thought about his son calling her mommy. It warmed his heart to think about how close Declan and Emily were, how much Declan loved and adored Emily. He had always wanted that for his son, and he was extremely lucky and thankful that he had found that.

Emily nodded as she looked down at the blonde boy. "Yes. It threw me off, but I tried to brush it off because I didn't want to scare him..."

"Does it bother you?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. I was just caught off guard." She admitted. It really didn't bother her, it actually made her happy that Declan saw her as a mother figure and felt comfortable enough with her to call her mommy. She leaned down and kissed the boy's blonde curls before looking back up at his father. "He can call me mommy."

Ian nodded as he glanced up at the tv. There was a cartoon on the screen, something he didn't recognize. "What is this?" He questioned, his thick Irish accent extremely noticeable. Emily couldn't help but smile. His accent was one of the things that made him absolutely irresistible to her. It was one of the things that had made her fall in love with him.

"SpongeBob SquarePants. It's Declan's favorite show. I told him that we could watch it together as long as he took his nap like he was supposed to." Emily knew that Ian didn't like Declan sleeping in their bed, but she hoped that he wouldn't be upset.

To her surprise, Ian didn't say anything about him being in their bed. He just watched the two most important people in his life and a smile appeared on his face. "SpongeBob SquarePants? I suppose we'll all have to watch it together when he wakes up."

"It's stupid. I mean it's funny, but it's stupid humor. I'm not sure if you'd like it." She knew that Declan would love for his father to watch his favorite show with him, but she didn't want Ian to complain about how ridiculous it was while he was watching it. But then again, she was happy that he was trying to be involved with Declan and with his interests. "But I know Declan would love for you to watch it with him. You know he loves spending time with you."

Ian nodded as he rubbed his son's back. "And I love spending time with him." He looked up at Emily, who was watching the interaction between the two boys. At this point, part of her regretted telling Ian that she would completely forget about her old life. But the rest of her knew that she could see herself spending the rest of her life with these two boys. And she was looking forward to it.


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: I'm currently obsessed with this fic, so updates are coming out fairly quickly. Please favorite, follow & ESPECIALLY review, as I love reading everyone's comments and suggestions. Thank you!_**

* * *

Emily was up bright and early Tuesday morning, anxious to get into town and to the doctor. Her and Ian were going to see their baby today, and as long as everything was good and the baby was healthy, they were going to tell Declan that he was going to be a big brother when they got back. They were going to make the announcement exciting for the little boy, with cake and balloons. They realized that they didn't really have anyone else to announce it to, so they might as well make it interesting for Declan.

The week ahead would prove to be extremely busy for the couple. Ian decided that they were going to move to an area where Emily hadn't been before, so that Interpol wouldn't know their location and wouldn't know where to find them once they realized that Emily had gone off the grid. She destroyed her cell phone, ensuring that there was absolutely no way for her team to track her. Ian had moved around a lot for work, but he had managed to keep the Tuscan Villa as his main home since Declan was born. It was going to be hard to up and move from the place that he had gotten used to calling home, but Ian was willing to do anything for his family. Declan had been the most important thing in his life until Emily came along. Now Declan and Emily and the baby were the most important things in his life.

Emily was standing in the bathroom, looking in the mirror and admiring her tiny bump that was starting to show. She turned to the side, and to the other side, looking at it from every angle. When she had learned she was pregnant, after finally taking a pregnancy test after she was eight weeks late, she wasn't too excited. She was extremely nervous about the entire situation, especially about telling Ian. It proved to not be too bad, but it could've gone much worse. She tried not to get too excited about the baby yet, at least not until after the appointment. She wanted to make sure that there was nothing wrong with the baby, or that there at least was a baby, before she got too excited.

Ian walked up behind Emily, wrapping his arms around her waist as he smiled at her in the mirror. "You're glowing." He told her as he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Gently rubbing her belly, he couldn't stop smiling at her. He didn't get to experience this with Chloe, and he was looking forward to getting to experience this with Emily. He was an asshole and a mean son of a bitch sometimes, most of the time, but he tried to be good to his family. He tried very hard not to let his Irish temper get the best of him, and he tried to be a good man for his son and for Emily.

"Why, merci." Emily blushed as she turned her head to press her lips against his. She smiled as she pulled away and looked in the mirror for a few more seconds. "Are you ready to go?"

"I've never been more ready for anything, love."

"Mrs. Doyle?" The nurse called, and Emily looked up when she heard her name. They had decided to use the name Emily Doyle instead of Lauren Reynolds or Emily Prentiss, just in case. They didn't want to chance anything, and Emily knew that Interpol had their ways of tracking people down. She didn't want her name or her alias to show up anywhere on Interpol's radar.

Ian and Emily stood up, and Emily handed the clipboard full of paperwork to the nurse as they walked by. They went through the basic stuff, such as getting Emily's height and weight, and taking her blood pressure. The nurse then led Ian and Emily to a room before she asked Emily some questions and took some blood, informing them as she left that her doctor would be with them shortly. Emily was getting antsy and anxious, as she was getting closer and closer to being able to find out more information about their baby.

"Excited?" Ian questioned as he squeezed Emily's hand.

"Very." She couldn't help but smile as she heard the door open, and the doctor stepped in. She had never thought that she wanted kids, but now that she was pregnant and knew that there was a little human inside of her, she couldn't be more excited. She felt slightly guilty, considering that she had been pregnant once before, but she knew that the situation had been different. Much different.

Emily's doctor was a short middle-aged woman with gray hair. "Hi there, Emily. I'm Dr. Beckham." She smiled as she shook Emily's hand. "And this must be your husband?"

Ian nodded, standing up and shaking the woman's hand. "Ian." He told her, giving her a smile before sitting back down in the chair next to the exam table that Emily was sitting on.

Emily said hello, and the doctor began to look through her chart. "Well, your blood test came back and you are indeed pregnant. Judging by your last menstrual cycle, you're about ten weeks pregnant, but we'll confirm that for sure when we do the ultrasound. Which we can actually do in just a minute." She looked at Emily as she set the chart down. "Is this your first?"

"Yes." Emily told her as she watched the woman start to prepare the ultrasound machine. "Ian has a son from a previous marriage, but this is my first...yes." She had started to say this was her first pregnancy, and her stomach started to turn as she thought about that. This wasn't her first pregnancy. She thought back to many years ago, when she was in the clinic with Matthew Benton, when she had her abortion. She tried to brush the thought off and be excited about this baby. Everything happened for a reason, and there was a reason that her fifteen year old self was mature enough to make the decision that she was prepared for a child.

"Well congratulations, Emily." The doctor had Emily lie back and lift her shirt so that she could squeeze out some of the ultrasound gel onto her stomach. She had her unbutton her pants and gave her a towel to keep the gel from getting all over her clothes. Emily and Ian both watched anxiously as the doctor turned down the lights and used the wand to search for the tiny fetus. It took a few seconds before he found it, and the sound of the baby's steady heartbeat filled the room. Emily's eyes filled up with tears, and she covered her mouth as she looked at Ian. Pulling her hand away from her mouth, Ian softly pressed his lips against hers and smiled.

The doctor turned the monitor around to give Emily and Ian the first view of their unborn child. "Here's your baby." She told them, using the mouse pointer to point out all of his or her visible features and told them what everything was. "Your little one is measuring at about eleven and a half weeks, so we'll adjust your due date according to that." She used the wand to double check and make sure that everything was okay before printing out some pictures for Ian and Emily to take home with them. "The fetus is very healthy, and since you're almost twelve weeks already, you're pretty much in the clear to go ahead and tell whoever you would like. We tend to suggest that mothers wait to tell as many people as they can until they're out of the first trimester, as that is the time period that miscarriages are most likely to occur. But you're healthy and your baby is healthy, so as long as you take it easy and take the prenatal vitamins that I'm going to give you, this pregnancy should be smooth sailing, and you should be able to hold your sweet bundle of joy in about 28 weeks."

The doctor let Emily clean up before handing Emily and Ian their sonogram pictures. She wrote Emily a prescription for her prenatal vitamins, and told her that she would like to see her back in a month. She gave her some pamphlets and information packets as well, and let the couple go off on their way.

When Emily and Ian got out into the parking lot, Emily had the widest smile on her face. "I can wait to tell Declan...We're having a baby!"

Hearing her excitement, Ian chuckled as he pulled the brunette into his arms. "We're having a baby, love."


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: This is some fluff, but what I felt was necessary fluff. I hope you all enjoy and I hope you all also review after you're done reading this chapter! I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you to all those who have reviewed my previous chapters as well!_**

* * *

"Declan, you can come down here now!" Emily called as Ian set the cake on the dining room table. The sound of little feet running down the stairs made Emily smile as her eyes scanned the room one more time to check and make sure that everything was perfect. She realized that it was just a mini pregnancy announcement party and the only attendees were herself, Ian, and Declan, but it meant a lot to her and she wanted everything to be perfect. She wanted to be able to look back on this day in the future and think about how everything went right.

The little boy jumped from the last step onto the floor of the kitchen, giggling as his blonde curls bounced. He froze when he noticed the pink and blue balloons, and the cake that was sitting on the table. "We has a party?" He asked, and Emily could sense the pure confusion in his voice. She walked over to him and kneeled down next to him.

"Me and your daddy threw a party for you."

Declan's face lit up when he heard that. "A party? For me?" He questioned, starting to get excited.

Emily laughed as she pressed her lips against the blonde boy's curls. "Yes, amour. A party for you. Your father and I have something to tell you." She rubbed Declan's back, and he looked up as Ian walked over toward him. Ian kneeled down next to him, just as Emily had, and pulled something from behind his back.

"Do you see this, love?" Ian held the sonogram up for Declan to see. He pointed his finger at the middle of the image. "This right here...is a very tiny baby. Your baby brother or sister."

Declan looked up at Ian, his face lighting up just as it had when Emily told him that her and Ian had thrown a party for him. "You're going to be a big brother, Declan." Emily told the little boy, who had so many questions, he could barely contain himself. He began to ask whether it was a boy or a girl, why they didn't know yet, what they were going to name it, when he was going to be able to meet it, and where it was. The three year old was extremely interested in how the baby was living in Emily's stomach, and how it got there. Luckily, Ian and Emily distracted him with cake and ice cream, and they didn't have to try and attempt to explain to their three year old where babies came from.

As they ate the cake that they had bought Declan, both Ian and Emily realized that this was completely out of the ordinary and unnecessary. They didn't know anyone else who would have made a pregnancy announcement to their child like this. Most parents would simply tell them that they were going to be a big brother or sister and leave it at that. But Ian and Emily weren't most parents, and they certainly weren't "normal". This party that they threw Declan was a way of making up for all of the abnormalities in the little boy's life. He didn't have a mother, his father couldn't always be his father, his housekeeper had been his mother figure who pretended to be his mother, and Emily had come into his life and had just become the current mother figure in his life. And she hoped to be his mother figure for the rest of his life. They would also be moving within the next few days, and they knew that that would certainly be a change for him. At the current moment, all they wanted to do was make him feel special.

Declan's face was covered in cake, and once Emily and Ian noticed, neither one of them could help but laugh. Emily reached over and wiped his face off with a napkin. "Let's get you into the bath and then off to bed, okay?" She stood up and walked upstairs with the little boy, who was still beyond excited about the baby and being an older brother soon. As Emily listened to him, she couldn't stop smiling. She drew Declan's bath and took his cake-covered clothes off of him before helping him get into the tub. He giggled as he splashed around and played with his toys, just as he did every night when Emily gave him his bath. After Emily had washed his hair and he was done, he held his arms up so that Emily could pick him up and dry him off.

She took him into his room and got him into his pajamas, and as she ran a brush through his hair, Declan looked up at her with his bright blue eyes. Oh, those eyes. They were definitely something that the sweet boy had gotten from Ian. "Mommy, can I sleep with you and daddy?" He asked as he threw his arms around the brunette and rested his head on her shoulder.

"That's something you'll have to ask daddy, love. I don't care."

As she finished getting Declan ready for bed, Ian peeked his head in the doorway. "I came to say goodnight to my favorite little boy." The Irish man smiled as he watched Emily finish brushing through the boy's blonde curls.

"Can I sleep with you and mommy?" Declan asked, his question aimed toward his father this time. His voice was just as soft and sweet as it had been when he had asked Emily, and he just warmed Emily's heart.

Ian let out a breath. There was no way that he could tell Declan no, at least not right now. "Just for tonight, okay, son?" He told him, and Declan grinned as he clung to Emily.

"Okay, daddy. Thank you!" He blew him a kiss, and Emily carried the three year old to the master bedroom. Ian followed behind with Declan's blankie and stuffed bunny in hand. Emily tucked the boy into bed and Ian laid his blanket over him. They both got changed and ready for bed before lying down on either side of the toddler. They both gave him kisses and had started to get comfortable in bed when they heard a quiet voice say, "Wait."

"I want to say good night to the baby." Declan sat up, holding his arms out toward Emily. Emily's heart melted and she sat up, watching as he placed his hands on Emily's hips and leaned closer to her, pressing his lips against her stomach. "Good night baby. I love you." He whispered, planting one more kiss against Emily's shirt before pulling away and lying back down. He gave his parents a soft smile and told them good night and that he loved them before closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep.

Ian and Emily looked at one another, exchanging smiles before lying back down and closing their eyes. If there was one thing that was for sure, it was that Declan was more than excited to be an older brother, and that he already loved his baby brother or sister with all of his heart.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you everyone for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'm sorry for making everyone wait longer than usual for this one! Thank you for all of the reviews so far, and I hope to see a few more for this chapter! Let me know what you think and what you hope to see in future chapters. :)**

* * *

"Five more minutes, Ian, please." Emily groaned as she buried her face in Ian's chest, and the Irish man couldn't help but laugh when he heard her beg him to let her sleep more. He ran his hand through her slightly tangled dark hair, smiling to himself as his hand made its way down to her back.

"Five minutes, love. But that's all, we have to get going soon." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head as he felt her body move against his. Emily grunted in response, and Ian just shook his head. She had gotten extremely obsessed with her sleep since she had gotten pregnant.

Ian was generous and let her sleep for another fifteen minutes before waking her up once more and telling her that she would be able to go back to sleep once they got in the car. They only had a few boxes to take with them, as they decided to only take the essentials. Anything that wasn't completely irreplaceable, they could replace once they were in their new home. Ian had already arranged for some furniture to be delivered and set up, so they would have somewhere to sleep and put their things once they got there, but most everything else would have to be shopped for eventually.

Emily took a few seconds to open her eyes before kissing Ian's cheek and getting out of bed. Ian bit his lip as he watched her walk to the bathroom. "You know your ass looks exceptionally amazing today." He called out, smiling to himself once he heard Emily's soft chuckle.

"Just today?" He heard her question from the other room. "I thought it looked amazing every day."

Ian chuckled as he sat up in bed, swinging his legs over the edge and walking over to the closet. "It does, love. It just looks even more amazing today."

* * *

Emily and Ian began packing up their clothes and belongings, and Declan ran into their bedroom once he woke up. He was excited about moving, and after everything that Ian had told him about the new house, he couldn't wait to get there. The little boy settled on the bed and watched cartoons while his parents packed up their things, and it wasn't long before they moved onto Declan's room.

Once they had everything that they wanted to take with them, Ian and Emily packed their bags and boxes into the car. Declan was bouncing off the walls, his excitement increasing with every second that went by. Emily couldn't help but laugh as she watched him, her hands softly rubbing her belly as the three year old ran back and forth between the house and the car, bringing out small items that his tiny toddler strength could handle.

"I think that's the last of everything." Ian announced as he put a box from Declan's room into the back of the SUV. "Declan, would you like to have your pillow and blanket in the backseat with you? We'll be in the car for a while." The Irish man held up his son's favorite pillow with the Spider-Man pillow case and his raggedy blanket that he never let Ian or Emily or Louise wash. Declan nodded his head quickly as he ran to his father and took the pillow and blanket from him.

"Where's Elly?" The blonde boy asked, pouting slightly as he realized that his stuffed elephant was missing. He had gotten it with Emily one afternoon when they went to a shopping mall in town, and he had refused to let it out of his sight since then. Due to his excitement over the past few hours, however, he had misplaced the elephant, and he was beginning to get extremely emotional over it.

Emily peeked her head out from the other side of the car and held up the gray stuffed animal. "Right here, sweetheart. Don't worry, I have her." She handed the giraffe to the little boy before helping him into his car seat. The brunette gave him his pillow and draped his blanket over his lap, kissing his cheek as she ran through the mental list in her head to ensure that they were not leaving anything behind.

* * *

They had been driving for hours, and Ian noticed that Emily had started shifting uncomfortably in the passenger seat. "Are you okay, love?" He questioned, glancing over at the brunette next to him.

Emily shook her head as she toyed with the ring around her neck. "I just have to pee. But I can wait until Declan wakes up and wants to eat...I don't want to have to make more stops than necessary."

"I'll stop now, love. Arriving ten minutes later than originally planned is better than you getting an infection from not going to the bathroom." Ian ran his thumb over the top of Emily's hand, and she nodded slightly as she glanced out the window. "Is that all? Or is something else bothering you?"

Emily stared out the window for a few more seconds before turning her head to look at Ian. "I'm just nervous...I've moved around a lot throughout my life but that nervous feeling I get whenever I'm on my way to somewhere new has never gone away. It'll go away once we're in our new home, but right now it's just getting the best of me and affecting my mood." She frowned, hoping that Ian understood what she was talking about. She was completely aware that it came out jumbled and probably didn't make sense, but she couldn't quite figure out how else to explain it.

Ian nodded as he squeezed her tiny hand. "I'm sorry, love. We'll be there soon." He didn't want to tell her not to be nervous because he knew that telling anxious or nervous people not to be nervous was the worst thing that someone could possibly do when attempting to make things better. He kissed her hand before letting it rest back down on the center console, and used his left hand to switch lanes and pull off the highway and into the parking lot of the nearest gas station. "I'll wait out here since Dec is sleeping." He reached for his wallet and handed it to Emily. "Get yourself some water and something to eat, love."

Emily nodded, smiling at him as she took his wallet from him. "Thank you. Do you want anything?" Ian shook his head and the pregnant woman nodded as she turned around and went into the gas station. She hurried in the bathroom and got her drink and snack quickly before paying and heading back to the car. From what Ian said, they would be on the road for a few more hours before they would be to where they were going. He refused to tell her where their new home was, telling her that it was a surprise and that she would love it. She just hoped that they would get there soon so that the twisting feeling in her stomach would go away.

She handed Ian his wallet back and placed a pack of cigarettes on top of the black leather bifold. Emily had quit smoking since she had found out that she was pregnant, but Ian hadn't been able to kick the habit. He had tried to stop smoking around Emily as much as possible, since he knew that even secondhand smoke would be bad for the baby. But Emily knew that he had already been without a cigarette for over six hours, and she could tell that he was starting to get restless.

"If it's going to help you relax, you know you can have one, love...your doctor said it wouldn't hurt as long as you weren't continuing to smoke the same amount that you were before you were pregnant." Ian told her as she got back in the car, and Emily just nodded. The fact that Ian had just given her permission to smoke showed her that he was truly concerned about her mental state at the moment. He had made it perfectly clear since she had told him she was pregnant that he didn't approve of her smoking anymore, since it had the potential to hurt the baby. But right now, he was completely aware of how much of a nervous wreck she was. And if a cigarette was what she needed to relax and bring her stress level down, then he would be okay with allowing her to have one.

Emily shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'll be better when we get there, I promise." She forced a smile as she looked at Ian. "I think I'm going to try and go to sleep to pass the time."

Ian nodded as he got back on the highway, continuing their journey. "Okay, love. If you can't sleep and want to talk about it, I will gladly listen." He leaned over and softly kissed her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." Emily whispered as she laid her head against the window and closed her eyes. And to her surprise, it wasn't five minutes before she fell asleep.

* * *

"Love?" Ian shook Emily's shoulder softly as he turned the key in the ignition and shut off the engine of the SUV. "Emily, we're here."

The brunette slowly opened her eyes, and she had to blink a few times in order to register exactly what her eyes were seeing. "Ian, this is...this is beautiful." There were not even words to explain the property in front of them. There were acres beyond acres of land, and a huge house that Emily couldn't wait to explore. Declan was waking up in the backseat, and the three year old couldn't contain his excitement as he tried to escape from his car seat. He pouted when his excitement kept him from undoing the straps, and Ian couldn't help but smile as he got out of the car to let his son out as well.

"I knew you'd like it. It's even more beautiful once we get inside and you get a chance to look around."

Emily got out of the car, her right hand rested on her belly as she walked toward the house. It was beyond beautiful. Beautiful didn't even seem to be an acceptable word to describe their new home. And suddenly, the nervousness that Emily had had previously had gone away. The butterflies that she had had in her her stomach for the past 12 hours had gone away. She had been worried that she would be missing her old life, but at this point, the only thing that she could think about was her future with Ian and their children. And she couldn't help but smile as she thought about that future.


	9. Chapter 9

"Mommy, mommy, watch!" Declan giggled as he leaned forward and put his face under the water of the swimming pool. He started to blow bubbles, and Emily just shook her head as she chuckled to herself. The little boy was so easily entertained, it amazed her sometimes. He was so sweet, so innocent. She sometimes wished that she could be that innocent, that care free, without a worry in the world. She carried around so much baggage at this point that it bothered her. It felt a little easier now, however, considering that she had told Ian who she really was.

Things between her and Ian had been going fairly well. They had been living here for a little over a week, and so far everything was great. Her and Declan had been exploring the house and going on adventures all over their vast property. And her and Ian had been spending some time together at night, breaking in all of the different areas of the house. There was something about a mixture between being pregnant and being in a new home that made Emily want to jump Ian's bones every time that she saw him. And Ian, of course, didn't object to her desire.

"Are you gonna come in?" Declan asked as he brought his face out of the water, his blonde hair dripping wet. He pouted, knowing that his pout usually got Emily to do anything that he wanted her to. But the brunette shook her head as she stood up and held Declan's towel out to him.

"Not now, honey. It's getting late. We need to get inside and get some dinner." Emily just smiled as Declan continued to pout, but climbed out of the pool. She helped him take his water wings off, and tossed the plastic armbands to the side before wrapping him in his SpongeBob towel.

Ian was sitting at the island in the kitchen, a glass of whiskey in his hand. "Did you two have fun?" He asked as his fiancé and son came in from the pool. Declan nodded as he ran to the fridge to get a juice box, his wet feet leaving a trail on the tile.

"We did." Emily walked behind Ian and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Declan can blow bubbles in the water." She told him, rubbing her belly as she looked for something to cook for dinner. She was 14 weeks pregnant now, and she felt as if she was growing every second. She had woken up the day prior and was extremely surprised when she noticed that their little one was starting to show off his or her appearance more than previously. "And your little spawn is extremely hungry, so while I give Declan a bath, can you start cooking dinner? Please? Louise should be back from the store in a little over twenty minutes." Emily copied Declan's famous pout, knowing that Ian would most likely not be able to tell her no. The Irish man stood up from where he was sitting and walked over to the brunette, looking in the cabinet.

"I can do that, love." He kissed the side of her head. "Go give him his bath. I'll have dinner ready before you get back down here." Ian smiled, gently smacking Emily's ass as she walked by to pick up Declan. She turned her head back to look at him and rolled her eyes, smiling as she pulled the three year old into her arms. She mouthed a quick "thank you" and took Declan upstairs to the bathroom.

They had decorated the bathroom for Declan. It was SpongeBob themed, which Declan absolutely adored, and it fit well considering the underwater theme in the bathroom. Somehow the decorations had also gotten Declan more excited about taking baths, and he didn't seem to fight it as much as he had in the past.

After Emily had given the mini-Ian his bath, she got him changed into his pajamas and brushed his hair. The two of them went downstairs and Ian had had dinner prepared. He had made hamburger steaks, mashed potatoes and corn, and Emily's stomach began growling as soon as she smelled the food. "Ian, this smells amazing." She smiled as she got plates out of the cabinet and started to pile food onto Declan's plate. Once she finished with his plate, she went on to making hers and sat down at the table.

"So, love," Ian set his plate and his glass on the table before pulling out his chair and sitting down. "I'll probably be gone before you wake up in the morning...I'm going to meet Liam so we can go do a deal."

Emily looked up at Ian, a slightly confused look on her face. It wasn't something that they had actually discussed out loud, but she just assumed that since they were having a child together and since they had up and moved their life, that he wouldn't be continuing with the dangerous lifestyle that he had had when they first met. It didn't bother her that he was going to, it just caught her off guard. "Oh okay...do you know when you'll be back?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at the latest. I'm leaving early so that I can be home to spend time with you and Declan. I was thinking about maybe going out to the beach since we haven't had a chance to go yet." Ian took a sip of his drink, the liquor burning his throat as he swallowed it. He set the glass back down on the table and looked up at the brunette, who hadn't touched a bite of food on her plate.

"Please just be careful, Ian...I know you always are and I know that nothing has happened to you yet, but it just makes me nervous when you go out to do deals...especially without me." Emily frowned. "And it always has."

He could sense the nervousness in Emily's voice, and it made him feel uneasy. "I'll be careful, love, I promise. I'll wake you up to tell you when I leave and I'll call you or send you a message every hour or so so that you know I'm safe." He hadn't had to do this before, but he could tell that Emily was truly worried about his safety at the current moment. And she was even more worried than usual. "Well considering the fact that you're pregnant and that you were only pretending to be a weapons dealer with a good hookup, I don't see you coming to deals with me very much anymore." Ian teased, his way of trying to lighten the mood. Luckily it worked, and Emily smiled a bit as she took a bite of her food.

"I can't lose you, Doyle. So you better make sure that you keep doing whatever you've been doing in the past to keep yourself safe." Emily reached over the table and took Ian's hand. "I love you too much."

Ian squeezed her hand, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss it. "I love you too. Stop worrying, love. I'll be okay." Ian let her hand go as he continued eating, and he couldn't help but smile as he realized that she had truly fallen for him as hard as he had fallen for her. Simply from the nervousness and pure concern in her voice when she brought up losing him, he could tell that her feelings for him were absolute. He could tell that regardless of the fact that she had previously told him that she wasn't the marrying type, he would be damned if her last name wasn't Doyle within the next year.


	10. Chapter 10

_"Emily!"_

 _The brunette jumped when she heard the Irish man's booming voice, and she turned around quickly, her stomach beginning to ache as she saw the anger on his face. It had been awhile since he had been this angry, and she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes as she moved closer to her._

 _"Ian? What's going on?" She questioned, a million different things running through her head. What had she done wrong? Had she done anything to upset him? She was trying to figure out what could have made him so angry. Even though she was thinking hard, nothing came to mind. She couldn't think of any possible reason as to why Ian would be mad._

 _Ian stepped closer to her. "Get up."_

 _Emily looked up at the man in front of her, fear in her eyes as she got up off of the bed. She didn't dare say a word, just looked at him as she waited for him to say something, anything. She was so nervous about what he was angry about, what she had done wrong. It had been weeks since he had been this angry, and she was pretty scared at the current moment._

 _As Ian raised his hand, Emily flinched, and she immediately regretted it. She knew that when she flinched, Ian tended to hit her twice as hard. She was partly surprised that he would hit her while she was pregnant with their child, but the rest of her wasn't surprised at all. In the back of her head, this was something that she had wondered about since she found out that she was pregnant. Ian wasn't the type to come home and beat her every night, but he had no problem smacking her around every once in a while. She wondered if he would stop because she was pregnant, but his raised hand about a foot from her face answered her question. She should've known that he wouldn't change just because she was pregnant. As his hand began to make it's way to her face, Emily closed her eyes, anticipating the sting of his strong hand colliding with her cheek._

* * *

That's when she woke up. She jumped, her eyes darting around the room as she sat up. Her sudden movement woke up Ian, and he sat up as well, looking at the brunette next to him. She was holding the sheet up above her bare chest, and her breathing was heavy. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see the fear in her eyes, and he frowned as he looked at her. "Emily? What's wrong, love?"

Continuing to stare into the darkness, Emily just shook her head. She didn't want to try to explain to Ian that she had had a bad dream about him hitting her. She knew that sounded pathetic, and she didn't need Ian to reassure her of how absolutely stupid it was. "Nothing, I'm okay. Just a bad dream...you can go back to sleep, Ian."

Ian frowned as he reached over and rubbed her shoulder. Her skin was cold, which was odd considering the sweat that was dripping down from her neck. "What was it about, love?"

Still not wanting to tell him, Emily shook her head once more. "Ian, it's okay. It was nothing...you have to leave early in the morning, don't worry about it."

"You don't have to tell me about it...but I just want you to know that I want to hear about it if you'll tell me." He leaned over and kissed her temple, frowning when he felt the sweat there as well. "I don't mind being a little tired tomorrow. I'd rather be tired than go back to sleep thinking that you'll be up all night thinking about your dream."

He had her there. She was truly amazed by how sweet he was to her. It was less surprising to her as the time went by, but when they had first gotten together, the actual care and concern he had for her came as a surprise. "It's stupid, Ian...I don't even know why it scared me so much." The brunette frowned. "I was just sitting in the bedroom, and you came in and you were angry...and you hit me." She took a deep breath and sighed. "It just seemed so real...I couldn't believe that you had hit me when I was pregnant. But it's stupid, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry that I woke you up for that."

Ian shook his head as he moved closer to Emily, wrapping his arms around her. "It's not stupid, love. And you don't have to be sorry for waking me up." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her cheek. "I want to be here to listen to you talk about your dreams. All of them. Your bad ones, your good ones, your happy ones. And I want you to know that you can always wake me up to talk about anything." He rubbed her arms and moved his hands down to her stomach. "But don't be afraid, love...I know my temper can get the best of me sometimes, but I'm going to try my hardest not to hurt you or our baby."

Ian rested his chin on Emily's shoulder, and the brunette leaned back into her fiancé. His words and his touch made her feel a lot better. It was weird how he could calm her down like that. She wasn't used to another person having that affect on her. But she liked it. She was glad that she didn't have to self soothe all the time anymore. She was glad that Ian could help calm her and improve her mood.

"Thank you." She whispered, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment. "I mean it, thank you so much, Ian."

Ian pressed another kiss to the back of her head, letting his lips linger for a few seconds. As he pulled away, he took in the scent of her shampoo, strawberries and cream, and he ran his hand through her hair. "You don't have to thank me, Emily. I love you."

"I love you too, Ian."

He moved back to his side of the bed, lying back down and holding out his arms. "Come here. Let's try to get a few more hours of sleep before I leave."

Emily nodded, lying down and letting herself fall into Ian's arms. Surprisingly, after her dream, she felt a lot better with him holding her. She really didn't think that telling him about her dream would do any good, but she was more than glad that she did. She couldn't believe that she had fallen for this man so hard, so quickly. But at this point, she wouldn't have it any other way.


	11. Chapter 11

Emily was trying to keep her mind on absolutely anything but Ian, but doing that was harder than she could have possibly imagined. She wasn't sure why she was so worried about him right now, she just had a truly bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what it was exactly, but she had a really bad feeling about this particular job, regardless of the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about it.

The brunette sighed to herself as she made her way into the living room with a plate of cheese fries. She had been craving them since she woke up that morning, and couldn't fight the cravings any longer. After telling Declan to wait a few minutes until they cooled off, she put some cartoons on the television and checked her cell phone. She let out a breath of relief when she saw Ian's name and a message that read "on our way back, I love you". That message right there made absolutely every bad feeling that she had go away. She had been nervous about Ian since he had told her that he was leaving, and that feeling hadn't gone away until right then.

"Love you too, be safe." Emily sent back before setting her phone down on the table and looked at Declan. The blonde boy was curled up on the other end of the couch, his arm around his elephant and his thumb in his mouth. "The fries should be cooled down if you want any, Dec." Emily told the Irish man's son, and he nodded so that she knew he had heard her. His eyes were focused on the tv, and Emily knew that he was going to wait until a commercial was on before he started to eat.

Emily woke up a few hours later, her eyes quickly darting around the room. Declan was still on the other end of the couch, sleeping with his arm wrapped tight around Elly. It was mostly dark outside now, and Emily frowned as she started to wake up completely. She wondered why Ian wasn't home yet, and that nervous feeling that she had had previously was starting to come back. The brunette reached for her cell phone, her heart dropping when she saw that she had no messages from Ian, but one from Liam. "Car accident...not much to explain. Being taken to the hospital, Ian told them his name was Chuck Murray."

Her heart started pounding as she read the text message, and she quickly scrambled to find Louise. The older woman was in the kitchen, cleaning and preparing dinner. "Louise?" Emily peaked into the room, trying her hardest to smile once the housekeeper looked at her. "Ian got into an accident...can you watch Declan while I go to the hospital to see what's going on?"

Setting the dish towel that she had in her hand on the counter, Louise nodded her head. "Of course, Emily. Is there anything else that I can do for you?" Emily shook her head, thanking Louise as she put on her coat and grabbed her keys. She rubbed her belly softly, sighing as she went outside and got in the car.

She rushed to the hospital, but was careful to obey the speed limit the entire way there. The last thing she needed was to get in a car accident herself. Once she got to the hospital, she gave a nurse in the ER Ian's fake name, and she told her that she would buzz her in and have someone show her back. Emily waited impatiently, tapping her foot as she thought about Ian.

Someone led the pregnant woman to Ian's room, and when she walked in, the Irish man's face dropped. His condition wasn't as bad as Emily had expected; he only had a few scrapes and bruises. Emily had been preparing for the worst, not in any way sure of what to expect when she walked in this room. "Ian..." She whispered, walking over to the bed and cupping her fiancés face in her hands. "Ian, my God...I'm so glad you're okay."

Emily held his face in her hands for a few seconds, taking a deep breath as she looked into his bright blue eyes. "What in the hell happened?"

Ian shook his head as he reached in front of him and ran a hand though Emily's dark hair. "Nothing, love. It was just a minor car accident. We got ran off of the road, that was all. I'm fine and they're going to release me in about an hour."

"Ian..." Emily repeated, her pregnancy hormones starting to get the best of her. She was trying so hard not to cry, but Ian had scared her so much. She had been so worried about what condition he would be in when she got here, or if he would even be alive. And the fact that Liam was the one to message her made her even more worried about Ian's condition.

"Emily, I am fine." Ian looked up at her. "I promise you, I'm fine. Just a few bruises. I didn't even break anything."

The brunette nodded her head, trying to keep it together as she sat down in the chair next to Ian's bed. They sat together in silence until a doctor came in to discharge Ian. Neither one of them spoke a word until Declan called Emily to see when she would be home, and if she could read him his bedtime story. "We'll be home in a few minutes, sweetheart. Go lie down and I'll meet you upstairs when we get there."

"Okay mommy. I love you." Declan told her before hanging up the phone. A few minutes later, Emily pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. Her and Ian walked up to the door, and before she opened it, Emily turned to face the Irish man.

"You scared the hell out of me, Ian...I knew something bad was going to happen. Ever since last night when you told me, I knew something bad was going to happen." She frowned, trying to keep her composure as she spoke to him. "I really can't lose you, Ian. I was so scared when I got that text from Liam, when I walked into the hospital, when I walked into your room...I wasn't sure what to expect, but I expected the worst, and I couldn't even imagine living without you if I had to."

The Irish man pulled her into his arms as she spoke, sighing softly as he pressed his lips against the top of her head. "You're not going to lose me, love. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

His simple words were all that she needed. She rested her head against his chest, and her stomach was pressed against his waist. She closed her eyes, but opened them quickly as she felt a little flutter. Ian looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Our little one is just moving around." Emily smiled and pressed a kiss to Ian's nose. "Don't scare me like that again, Ian Doyle."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Emily."


End file.
